A
man has a choice from the time that he is
very young, to be one of two things: A leader
of men, or a follower of men. There is no
middle ground here. A man is either one, or
the other. Though sometimes a man may be both
a leader, and a follower, at the same time,
he is still, by definition, a leader. The
forms and methods of leadership are many. One
may find that his true calling is leading his
troops into battle, with little or no hope of
victory. Another may be better at instructing
and directing his workers in the building of
a pyramid in the middle of a desert. One may
be best at taking the reins of a society, and
leading it to health and prosperity.
I could continue on, but the methods and
means of leadership are countless. The point
is that a man has a choice, to lead or to
follow. I will add that there is no
dishonor in following, as long as one follows
an honorable cause.
History
has shown us many times that the righteous
path has been the least popular path at the
time it was trodden. The men who traveled
these paths, were men of truth, and vision,
and some may say, honor. Looking back a few
hundred years, you will find a group of men:
Men of truth, dignity, principal, honor,
courage, leadership. This group of men took
an idea, and a set of beliefs, and made them
into a reality. I assure you, in case
your history fails you, that this group of
men were far from popular. Indeed, these
beliefs set them against their friends, and
their families. Brother fought against
brother, father against son, friend against
friend. They fought for what was right,
regardless of the cost, and they won. It
matters not to many that today the fruit of
these labors now withers on the vine. What
matters is that there were these men, who
refused to follow the flock on it's mundane,
meaningless journey to nowhere. These were
men of honor.
Finally,
we have those who seek only comfort. Those
who will not break away from the security of
their padded existence, because they wish to
remain among the popular majority. They will
not speak out, for fear of being frowned upon
for actually having a mind apart from the
masses. They will not speak out for fear of
losing friends, regardless of the cost to a
set of ideas. They will not speak out,
perhaps due to the fact that the naked truth
might be painful to those they call friends.
There is honor to be found in standing beside
one's friends. There is no honor, though, in
ignorance of the truth.
Is
it fair to these friends for you to ignore
the truth? Must friendship be disolved at the
mention of the truth? If so, then perhaps the
friendship was not a friendship after all.
Many seem to fear this discovery, at the
expense of the truth. Are you one of these
people who will not mention that a friend has
bad breath after eating lunch? Will you let
this friend go through the day, seeing other
people, perhaps offending them, because you
do not wish to hurt their feelings? Will your
friend cease to become your friend if you do
tell them they have bad breath? If the
friendship is true, then your words will be
taken as constructive criticism, the matter
resolved, and soon forgotten.
Does
any of this apply to what we do here, in our
search for being Gorean? Who's to judge? Many
seem to think that no one should judge.
Perhaps these people just do not feel
strongly enough about it. We are to judge. We
are to judge thoughts, and direction. If our
own ideas are not voiced, along with the
sometimes painful criticisms, then how do we
move on? How do we grow? How do our friends
grow? How does the serious newcomer learn the
truth if it is not voiced? Is it right to
point to a Ford, and call it a Chevy? I do
not think so. Is it right to point to
something that has been watered down and
modified heavily to suit a particular group
of people, and say "That is
Gorean"? No. If you have read one of the
books of Norman, then you should have an
inkling of what is expected in the lifestyle.
If you have read many of the books, then you
should have a very good idea about what is
expected should you choose to seek this
lifestyle. If you do not care for it, then
refer to the saying "Gor is not for
everyone", and go elsewhere.
Main
Of men, honor,
truth, and Gor